Santo was named on 15 of the 16 ballots cast by the committee made up of executives, former players and media. The committee met Sunday to discuss the merits of eight players and two executives who made their biggest contributions during the period from 1947-1972.

Santo played 14 seasons at third base for the Chicago Cubs and one for the Chicago White Sox, made nine All-Star teams and won five Gold Glove awards. He hit 342 home runs and drove in 1,331 runs while leading the National League in walks four times. He retired in 1974 with a .277 batting average, .362 on-base percentage and .463 slugging percentage.

Additionally, he finished among the league leaders in batting average, slugging percentage, OPS, hits, total bases, home runs, doubles and RBIs numerous times.

For the family of Santo, the election comes after a long wait. He first became eligible for the Hall in 1980, when he received just 3.9 percent of the vote from the Baseball Writers' Association of America. A candidate needs 75 percent of the vote to be elected.

Santo picked up votes over the years, finally peaking at 43.1 percent in 1998, his final year of eligibility on the writers' ballot. Since then, his candidacy has become a popular cause among some baseball fans and writers.